Revelation 17:1–4 — The Great Harlot and Babylon

Well, thanks again for joining me as we continue our verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation.

We’re starting chapter 17, which is widely regarded as one of the most difficult chapters in the entire book—if not in all of Scripture.

What makes this chapter so difficult is that commentators, scholars, theologians, and preachers take differing views on how to interpret what we’re about to read. There are all sorts of theories and conjectures concerning the meaning of this chapter.

So I’ll ask you to do what Luke said of the Bereans in Acts 17:11: they received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

In other words, don’t believe something simply because you heard a guy on a Bible study podcast say it. Search the Scriptures. Study. Do the research yourself and determine whether the things you hear are true.

My goal as we make our way through this chapter is to lay out several different interpretations and explain why people reach those conclusions.

Babylon and the Timeline of Revelation

We just completed our study of Revelation 16 and the seven bowls of wrath poured out by seven angels, so we know history is coming to an end.

But in chapter 17, John appears to circle back and give us additional details concerning the judgment of Babylon.

In other words, many believe we are not reading a strictly sequential order of events here—as though the judgment of Babylon necessarily occurs after the seven bowls. Rather, John may be going back and providing additional details about those judgments, particularly the judgment carried out against Babylon.

Some therefore understand chapter 17 as another way of describing judgments we saw in the previous chapter, or at least as a complementary description of those judgments.

And as something of a spoiler alert, one of the biggest controversies in this chapter concerns the actual identity of Babylon.

Who—or what—exactly is Babylon?

Let’s begin with Revelation 17:1–2:

Revelation 17:1–2
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.’”

We immediately see a connection with the previous chapter. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of wrath and judgment addresses John and invites him to see the judgment of the great prostitute.

Depending on which Bible translation you’re reading, you may see great prostitute, great whore, or great harlot. These expressions translate the Greek word pornē, from which we ultimately derive English words such as pornography.

There’s another contrast to keep in mind as we make our way through these chapters.

Notice how this great prostitute is described compared with how John will later describe the Bride of Christ in chapter 21. The bride is used as a symbol of the church, or believers.

So Revelation presents us with an enormous contrast between two women:

The great harlot and the Bride of Christ.

What Does “Seated on Many Waters” Mean?

The angel tells John:

“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters.”

What does it mean that she is “seated on many waters”?

Fortunately, this symbol is fairly straightforward because Revelation itself explains it.

In Revelation 17:15, the angel tells John:

“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.”

This demonstrates an important principle of biblical interpretation:

Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture.

The woman therefore has influence, authority, or dominion over a vast international population.

Throughout Scripture, sitting upon something can convey rule, authority, or control rather than merely describing a physical location.

We’ll see a progression with this prostitute. She goes from sitting on many waters, to sitting on a scarlet beast, to later declaring that she sits as a queen.

The recurring imagery suggests influence and dominance.

In this case, sitting upon many waters depicts her dominion or influence over many nations.

Spiritual Adultery and Idolatry

As we continue reading about this great prostitute, remember that although cultural, political, and economic issues are involved, the fundamental issue is spiritual adultery—or idolatry.

Throughout Scripture, sexual infidelity is frequently used as an image of spiritual infidelity: abandoning God and worshipping other gods.

This is central to understanding the influence of the great harlot.

Verse 2 says:

“…with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

And this brings us to perhaps the central interpretive question of Revelation 17:

Who—or what—does the great harlot represent?

We are not dealing with an ordinary, literal woman. The prostitute is a symbolic figure representing something else.

But what?

That is where interpreters disagree.

Four Views on the Identity of Babylon

1. Ancient Rome

The first interpretation identifies the woman with ancient Rome.

This is commonly associated with the preterist approach, which understands much of Revelation as referring to events that occurred in the first century.

There are several reasons for identifying the woman with Rome.

Revelation 17:18 says:

“The woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

In the first century, Rome certainly fit that description.

Verse 9 also says the woman sits upon seven mountains, and Rome was famously associated with seven hills.

Rome also persecuted Christians, corresponding with the description in verse 6 of the woman being “drunk with the blood of the saints.”

There are challenges to this interpretation, however.

Revelation portrays events that many Christians believe extend beyond the first century—the most obvious being the return of Christ.

There are also details that appear to some interpreters to point toward a future global system rather than something confined entirely to ancient Rome.

To be fair, there is an important distinction between full preterism and partial preterism.

Partial preterists believe much of Revelation concerns events in the past, particularly chapters 6–19, while maintaining that certain events—including Christ’s return—remain future.

One important issue for either position is the date Revelation was written.

If Revelation was written before AD 70, it is plausible that some of its prophecies could point toward Jerusalem’s destruction.

But if Revelation was written around AD 95 during the reign of Emperor Domitian—the traditional date accepted by many scholars and early church writers—then Revelation could not have been predicting Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70 as a future event.

This is one reason the dating of Revelation has such enormous implications for its interpretation.

2. An Apostate Religious System

Another interpretation is that the woman represents an apostate religious system.

Many dispensational and futurist interpreters understand the woman as representing a future false worldwide religion.

Their reasoning includes the fact that she commits spiritual fornication with the kings of the earth and exercises influence over the nations.

Later, the beast destroys her, possibly suggesting that political power eventually turns against this religious system before the beast demands worship for himself.

This fits with my earlier study of Revelation 13, the Antichrist and 666, where the beast becomes an object of worship.

One challenge to this interpretation, however, is Revelation 17:18, which specifically identifies the woman as “the great city.”

Some therefore argue that interpreting her as purely religious does not adequately account for that language.

3. Babylon as a World System

A third interpretation understands Babylon as representing the entire rebellious world system—religious, political, economic, and cultural.

Those who hold this view point out that Revelation 17 and 18 describe false religion, political alliances, enormous wealth, commerce, luxury, and persecution.

Instead of representing only one institution, Babylon becomes a symbol of civilization organized in opposition to God.

The strength of this interpretation is that it explains why Babylon appears to be much larger than one particular city as we move through these chapters.

The challenge is that Revelation sometimes describes Babylon in very specific terms rather than purely symbolic ones.

4. Papal Rome

Another historic interpretation identifies the woman with Papal Rome, particularly the institution of the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church.

This interpretation was famously held by Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and William Tyndale and became an important historic Protestant interpretation.

Those who hold this view point to the woman being dressed in purple and scarlet, possessing enormous wealth, influencing kings, persecuting believers, and claiming religious authority while being spiritually unfaithful.

Some historical details appear to fit this interpretation remarkably well, while others seem to point toward events that have not yet occurred.

Those who maintain this position might respond that the Roman Catholic Church remains a powerful global institution and could therefore still play a role in future events.

However, it is important to recognise that while this was prominent among the Reformers, it does not necessarily represent the majority evangelical interpretation today.

The Personal Question Behind Babylon

As we step back and consider these different interpretations of the great harlot, there are certain things we cannot ignore.

Regardless of who the woman ultimately represents, she is immensely influential.

She has a close relationship with political rulers.

She possesses extraordinary wealth.

She persecutes God’s people.

And eventually, she is destroyed by the very political powers she once influenced.

But there is also a danger when studying Revelation 17.

We can become so consumed with trying to identify Babylon that we never examine ourselves.

Russian novelist and historian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously observed that the line dividing good and evil cuts through every human heart.

So perhaps the question isn’t only:

“Who or what is Babylon?”

The more uncomfortable question might be:

“How much of Babylon is in me?”

Babylon’s Influence on the World

Verse 2 tells us that the kings of the earth commit sexual immorality with the great harlot, while the earth dwellers become drunk from the wine of her immorality.

The picture is that the kings of the earth and the earth dwellers have cast their lot with her.

Why?

Because she promises prosperity, power, and the comforts of this world.

Notice that the harlot’s influence extends beyond kings and political leaders. It reaches ordinary people—the earth dwellers.

We have seen throughout Revelation that “earth dwellers” functions as a description of unbelievers who have aligned themselves against God.

They become intoxicated by the wine of the harlot’s sexual immorality—that is, by her idolatry.

What John is describing is the harlot’s corrupting influence upon humanity. Through economic and political power, she leads people into widespread immorality and idolatry.

The Scarlet Beast

Now let’s continue with verses 3 and 4:

Revelation 17:3–4
“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.”

John sees the woman seated upon a scarlet beast.

The fact that she is sitting upon the beast may indicate that she exercises some influence over it.

At the same time, being carried by the beast could suggest that she depends upon the beast for her own influence and power.

In other words, the beast supports her.

The beast is scarlet, and the woman herself is clothed in scarlet—a color associated with wealth and luxury.

The fact that both are scarlet might suggest that although they are distinct, they are different manifestations of the same ungodly character operating within the world.

Purple, Scarlet, Gold and Jewels

The woman is evidently extraordinarily wealthy.

She is dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold, pearls, and jewels.

At first glance, she doesn’t look like a prostitute at all.

She looks like royalty.

In John’s world, purple was extraordinarily expensive and associated with wealth, royalty, and social status. Prestigious purple dyes could be produced through an expensive process involving large quantities of murex sea snails.

John therefore portrays this woman as clothed in extravagant luxury.

Yet because we know she is a prostitute, we also understand the source and character of her wealth.

Her harlotry is obscured beneath expensive clothing, gold, jewels, and outward splendor.

The Golden Cup

The woman also holds a golden cup:

“…full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.”

The cup is beautiful on the outside.

But its contents are disgusting and detestable.

It represents the reality that this woman remains defiled and corrupt regardless of how impressive she appears outwardly.

This description reminds me of Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:27–28:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

The imagery is strikingly similar:

Beautiful on the outside. Corruption and death on the inside.

Seven Heads and Ten Horns

Now let’s return to verse 3:

“…I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.”

Before going any further, we need to spend some time considering these seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 17 actually provides quite a bit of interpretation for us. The debate concerns which historical or future rulers and kingdoms these symbols correspond to.

The angel later tells John in verses 9–10:

“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings…”

Regarding the horns, verse 12 says:

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power…”

So we do not have to guess about the basic symbolism:

Seven heads = seven mountains and seven kings.

Ten horns = ten kings.

The question is:

Who are these kings?

The Seven Heads

One interpretation identifies the seven heads with seven Roman emperors.

This is especially common among preterist interpreters.

Revelation 17:10 says:

“…five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come…”

Interpreters therefore attempt to count Roman emperors until they arrive at the emperor reigning when John wrote Revelation.

The difficulty is that the answer changes depending upon where you begin counting and whether short-lived emperors such as Galba, Otho, and Vitellius are included.

This is one reason identifying the seven heads with seven particular Roman emperors is not as straightforward as it initially sounds.

Another interpretation understands the seven kings as seven successive world empires.

This view is popular among futurist and dispensational interpreters.

Under this interpretation, the heads represent great kingdoms that have dominated God’s people throughout biblical history.

A typical reconstruction might be:

Egypt → Assyria → Babylon → Medo-Persia → Greece → Rome → the future kingdom of the Antichrist

These represent two of the primary interpretations of the seven heads, and we’ll return to them as we continue through Revelation 17.

What About the Ten Horns?

Revelation 17:12 says:

“The ten horns… are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.”

Verse 13 continues:

“These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.”

There are three major interpretations.

Ten Future Rulers

The futurist interpretation understands the ten horns as ten actual rulers or political powers existing at the time of the Antichrist.

They initially possess individual authority but ultimately surrender their authority to the beast.

This creates something resembling a ten-power coalition or confederation under the beast.

First-Century Rulers

Preterists generally associate the ten horns with first-century Rome.

They may represent client kings or subordinate rulers who supported Rome during its conflicts.

One difficulty is identifying exactly ten rulers who neatly fulfil everything Revelation says about them.

The Totality of Earthly Political Power

A third interpretation understands the ten horns symbolically.

In this view, the number ten represents completeness or fullness, and the horns represent the collective political powers of the world eventually united against Christ.

Those holding this interpretation therefore do not necessarily expect exactly ten individual rulers.

The challenge, however, is the specificity with which John describes them as “ten kings.”

And I hope you’re beginning to see why Revelation 17 is regarded as one of the most difficult chapters in the entire book.

Full of Blasphemous Names

We’ll pick up with verse 5 in the next episode and continue trying to sort through these difficult questions.

But before we finish, don’t overlook another important detail John gives us.

Verse 3 says that the beast is:

“full of blasphemous names.”

In Scripture, blasphemy isn’t merely foul language.

The beast exalts itself against God.

It assumes honour that belongs to God.

And ultimately, it demands the worship that belongs to God alone.

So underneath all the purple, scarlet, gold, and jewels, John is showing us a system saturated with rebellion against God.

Christians may disagree about exactly who these kings are or precisely which kingdoms they represent.

But don’t miss what John makes unmistakably clear.

Whoever they are, and whatever kingdoms they represent, their power ultimately unites in rebellion against Christ.

And when the kingdoms of this world finally take their stand against Christ:

They lose.

Kings rise.

Kingdoms fall.

Political powers come and go.

But Revelation is driving us toward one unavoidable conclusion:

Every kingdom that sets itself against God eventually falls.

And Jesus Christ remains standing.